A small family run eatery in Pahang was left with no choice but to throw away several plates after customers allegedly smoked at the premises and used the dishes to hold their cigarette ash and butts.
The incident came to light after Threads user @wfhanaa shared a photo showing cigarette butts and ash scattered across several dishes.
“Dear customer, please don’t do this,” she wrote.
Customers smoked despite ‘No Smoking’ signs
The photo showed several cigarette butts placed inside small sauce dishes, with ash scattered across the dishes and a larger plate.
The post quickly gained attention, with netizens questioning why the customers were allowed to smoke at the eatery in the first place.
Responding to the comments, the OP said the eatery had already put up two “No Smoking” signs.
“Maybe they didn’t see them or pretended not to see them,” she wrote.
She explained that the incident happened when the eatery was about to close and the group were among their last customers.
At the time, everyone was busy cleaning and preparing to close, so they did not confront the customers over the smoking.
However, she said they did not expect to later find cigarette ash and butts left inside the dishes.
According to the OP, other customers had smoked at the eatery before despite the signs, but this was the first time someone had allegedly left cigarette ash in the plates they had eaten from.
Affected plates were thrown away
Speaking to WeirdKaya, the OP revealed that the incident happened at her family’s small eatery in Pahang about a week ago.
She clarified that her father is the owner of the eatery.
As for the dishes shown in the viral photo, the OP confirmed that she personally threw away those which had come into contact with the cigarette ash.
She explained that even after washing them, she was concerned that the smell would remain and did not want the next customer to have to use them.
I threw away the plates because even after washing them, the smell wouldn’t go away. I felt bad for the next customer who would have to use them,” she told WeirdKaya.
When asked what she hoped customers could take away from the incident, her message was straightforward.
Please don’t smoke. It doesn’t matter whether our shop is in a kampung (village) or a city. Please have some respect and common sense.”
Netizens question why smokers weren’t stopped
While many netizens criticised the customers’ alleged behaviour, some also questioned why the eatery did not stop them from smoking.
One commenter argued that displaying signs alone might not be enough and that staff should directly remind customers who choose to ignore them.
The OP acknowledged the criticism in the comments, saying perhaps they were also at fault for not asking the customers to leave.
Still, the sight of cigarette ash and butts being left directly on dishes drew strong reactions from other users, with several expressing concern over hygiene and the next customers who might have been served using the same plates.
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